Dementia prevention beyond educational attainment
There is mounting evidence suggesting that education has lifelong benefits that promote good health, and that it is more than a ‘gateway’ to a higher socioeconomic status. Pamela Almeida-Meza – PhD student in UCL’s Department of Behavioural Science and Health explains the nuances of the latest research findings in this area.
Pioneering stem cell research into dementia
Induced pluripotent stem cells are a special type of stem cell that's proving to be a crucial element in the fight to find the first life-changing treatment for dementia. Bryan Ng is one of the DPUK researchers who has been using them to study the cellular changes that take place when dementia takes hold.
Lockdown diary: doing dementia research in a time of coronavirus
27 March 2020
Distant colleagues, a screen-based social life and perhaps some home-schooling, has become the new normal for most of us now. Although some clinical researchers will be retraining to support coronavirus efforts, those who work with big data will be at home, doing their best to carry on there. Dementia research doesn’t stop in a time of corona – but it certainly changes. Dr Michele Veldsman, a dementia data researcher, is tracking her experience.
ECR journeys: from teaching English to exploring the impact of childhood traumas
Dr Delia Gheorghe is a postdoctoral research assistant at DPUK, investigating how childhood experiences influence brain structure in later life. This is how she got here.
ECR journeys: new steps from a small grant
Sometimes it’s only a small thing that triggers the changes that can lead to a dramatic step in your career. Here, Luke Whiley, an analytical chemist by training, reminds researchers to look out for opportunities in the small stuff. He tells the story of how a relatively small grant has taken him far in his career in dementia research – to the other side of the world in fact!
In conversation: Sarah Bauermeister and Chris Orton reflect on our most recent DPUK datathons
Two datathons in two weeks - autumn has certainly been busy season for the DPUK datathon team who have crossed the country to support a host of new dementia studies get off the ground. If you missed out on the DPUK datathons in UEA and Swansea, there are many more in the pipeline – don’t worry!
World Diabetes Day: Chemical changes in blood affect risk of developing other diseases
Luke Whiley won a DPUK grant to investigate gut-brain interactions. On World Diabetes Day, he writes about the links between bacteria, diabetes and dementia.
Keeping our brains healthy to reduce dementia risk
Research shows that our lifestyles can affect the health of our brains, and that making a few positive changes can help protect us as we get older. Dr Ivan Koychev is a clinician-scientist at Dementias Platform UK and a senior clinical researcher in Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry.
It’s time to explore divergent dementia trends in the UK and Japan to inform policies to reduce dementia risk
Can cultural differences also affect the risk of developing dementia? If so, there could be important policy implications. Dr Dorina Cadar is part of an international team of researchers doing cross-country comparative with UK and Japanese cohorts.
Did you know about the gigantic cohort study hidden in Wales?
Whilst working with one of the UK’s biggest GP databases, DPUK scientist, Tim, realised how valuable it could be for dementia research. Here, the researcher who created one of DPUK’s biggest, most representative cohorts describes how other researchers can use the resource to answer the big questions in dementia research.
Why junior researchers benefit from datathon events
Dr Sarah Bauermeister is passionate about developing younger scientists in dementia research. We asked her why datathons are such a great opportunity for them.
What it takes to launch a world-scale Alzheimer’s study
More than 100 researchers, 19 organisations, eight sites, and a fearless team conducting it all. DFP trial co-ordinator Tony Thayanandan gives the inside track on what it’s like to be part of such ambitious research.
Universities and industry are different – and that’s exactly why we need to work together in dementia research
Universities don’t make drugs – that’s the job of the pharmaceutical companies. There are other typical divides across academia and industry too: the expertise is different, the resources are different and the ways of working are different. But that’s no reason not to work together – in fact it’s precisely why we need to. Dr Iain Chessell heads the neuroscience therapy area in AstraZeneca, one of DPUK’s industry partners.
Can ELSA advance dementia research into the impact of socioeconomic factors on dementia?
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing is a representative cohort of the English population in the DPUK Data Portal – it has unique data with some real potential for cross-cohort dementia research. 2002 is the year it got started, 18,000 is the number of participants, eight is the number of times they have done medical tests, and 65 is their average age now. If you are interested in dementia research and have not considered using this valuable health study yet, Dorina Cader explains why you should.
Digital tech is helping patients with dementia, but are there risks from the big data they generate?
In this final part of Ivan Koychev's blog series, Ivan considers the risks and rewards of the rapid development of digital technology for dementia research and healthcare.
Me, my phantoms – and the imaging network
Pawel, an imaging scientist, is currently on tour across the country to visit DPUK’s seven-site network of PET-MR scanners with his ‘phantoms’ in tow. The phantoms are an intriguing and vital technical step in making sure that the scanners are set up for the first participants in multicentre clinical studies for dementia.
Why we need a machine learning datathon to combat dementia
A branch of artificial intelligence (AI) which is based on training computers to learn patterns has the ability to transform our understanding of dementia. Professor David Llewellyn co-led the first DPUK datathon and now we're looking forward to our first virtual DPUK datathon.
The ingredients that you need to make a datathon
Although the more commonly known ‘hackathon’ has been used to address societal-level problems from homelessness to corruption, we think that it’s only recently that the data science community is turning its attention to dementia. The DPUK datathon series might well be one of the first for the field in fact. Chris, DPUK’s Data Project Manager, and Sarah, DPUK’s Senior Data Manager, take us through the three key ingredients for a successful datathon.